Today in Soap Opera History (July 27)

On this date in...

1966: On DARK SHADOWS, David (David Henesy) became nervous when Constable Carter investigated Roger's crash.

Dylan Walsh Joins REVENGE

Dylan Walsh, who played Dr. Sean McNamara during NIP/TUCK's six season run has landed a multiple-episode arc on ABC's REVENGE, accoring to TVLine.com.

Walsh will appear later this season as Jason Prosser, a rival hedge fund manager to Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny).  Prosser is said to match Grayson’s wealth and have twice his style.

Walsh was most recently seen in CBS’ UNFORGETTABLE and Lifetime's DROP DEAD DIVA.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 27)

On this date in...

1916: Actor Keenan Wynn  was born. He would go on to star in dozens of television and film roles including as Digger Barnes on DALLAS.  He died in 1986 at age 70.

1965: On ANOTHER WORLD, Liz told Mary that she was sure Missy was just an operator after Bill's money but insisted "I'm the last person to want to interfere in her children's lives."

Today in Soap Opera History (July 27)

On this date in...

1916: Actor Keenan Wynn Picture was born. He would go on to star in dozens of television and film roles including as Digger Barnes on DALLAS.

1975: TOMORROW COAST TO COAST with Tom Synder featured a soap opera lineup of Bryna Laub, Joseph Stuart, Agnes Nixon, and Mary Stuart.

NEWS: Hallelujah, CORRIE Move, Matt Morrison, Joanna Going

CORONATION STREET set to be rebuilt in Salford Quays
Filming will move from the current Granada complex in central Manchester in 2012. The 7.7-acre site, which still needs planning permission, will also give the soap the option of expanding with the building of new parts of Weatherfield.

Marc Cherry sets up new drama at ABC
Cherry is developing the drama HALLELUJAH at ABC. Project centers on tiny Hallelujah, Tenn., which finds itself being torn apart by the forces of good and evil. Things begin to look up, however, when a stranger moves into town, looking to bring justice, peace and a little bit of faith to its residents.

Jill Clayburgh Dead at 66

Jill Clayburgh died Friday at her home in Lakeville, Conn. She was 66.

The actress, who last year played the matriach of ABC's Dirty Sexy Money, had been battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia for 21 years, her husband, playwright David Rabe, told the Associated Press.

Today's Soap World Birthdays

Norman Lear (Executive producer of MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN) - 88
John Pleshette (ex-Richard, KNOTS LANDING) - 68
Rebecca Staab (ex-April, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Elizabeth, PORT CHARLES; ex-Jessie, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Cecilia, LOVING) - 49
Sasha Mitchell (ex-James, DALLAS) - 43
Julian McMahon (ex-Christian, NIP/TUCK; ex-Ian, ANOTHER WORLD) - 42
Eric Martsolf (Brady, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Ethan, PASSIONS) - 39
Martha Madison (Marly, THE BAY; ex-Belle, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 33
Wolé Parks (ex-Dallas, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 28

TRIVIA: Former soap star Val Dufour (John, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; Walter, ANOTHER WORLD; Andre, THE EDGE OF NIGHT) died on this day ten years ago at age 73. He won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series in 1977.

NEWS: Wii GLEE, FNL, NIP/TUCK, Oprah, Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows Lands Screenwriter, Begins Production in early 2011
Filming begins in February on the Dark Shadows movie with Johnny Depp playing the vampire Barnabas Collins. Seth Grahame-Smith is taking over scripting duties from long-time Burton collaborator John August, to adapt the spooky 1960's soap opera.

Logo Acquires Off-Cable Syndication Rights to NIP/TUCK
Logo announced today that it has acquired the off-cable syndication rights to the groundbreaking dramatic series NIP/TUCK in a four-year licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. This deal marks the premiere for the series in syndication. The agreement includes all 100 episodes spanning the complete seven seasons of the Golden Globe® Award-winning and multiple Emmy® Award-nominated drama. Set to premiere this October, NIP/TUCK will run in three-episode stacks on one night during primetime, with a new stack of episodes each week. The series will be presented sequentially.

GLEE is coming to Wii
Karaoke Revolution Glee, set to release this fall on Wii, will feature the chart-topping music and captivating performances from one of the most talked about programs of the year. The game will give fans the chance to play the ultimate underdog as they perform the songs featured on the show.

OPRAH ratings reach an all-time low
THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW hit an all-time ratings low for the week of June 28, averaging a 2.9 -- the first time in the show's 24-year history it fell below the 3.0 mark.

How FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS finally scored top Emmy bids
Just days after the latest season debuted on NBC on May 7, DirecTV and Universal Media Services sent all 14,000 members of the TV academy all 13 episodes of the most recent season on DVD. FNL also made a bold drive online. Teaming up with the same marketing group that created the DVD mailer, Yes Design, producers went viral with a cheeky video featuring scores of fans making pleas to Emmy voters to not overlook the much-awarded series again.

NEWS: Drama on Cable, Laura Wright, McMahon, Pinter

NEW YORK TIMES: Weighty Dramas Flourish on Cable
Television viewers in search of challenging, original drama are flipping past the broadcast networks and going straight to the source: cable channels. The shift to cable also reflects a changing business model for the drama, one that is no longer dependent on making 100 or more episodes to sell in syndication. Instead, these cable dramas rely on tighter budgets, subscription fees paid by cable operators, smaller deficits and most crucially, investment by international networks.

ATWT's Colleen Zenk Pinter to appear at New Haven cancer screening
Yale-New Haven Hospital and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven will hold a free public screening for head and neck cancers on Friday, April 16, from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., in the East Pavilion special events area at YNHH. The fifth annual screening, called "Check up from the neck up," is a simple, five-minute exam that can save lives. Former YNHH patient and oral cancer survivor Colleen Zenk Pinter will appear at the screening to speak about the importance of early detection and screenings.

NEWS: Peter Reckell, Carlson, B&S Renewed, Univision

BROTHERS & SISTERS renewed
The ABC Sunday night soap will be back for a fifth season.

Peter Reckell address his time off from DAYS OF OUR LIVES
"Kelly and I have heard from concerned fans that there seems to be an NBC newsletter circulating stating or implicating that I have asked for time off from the show. Please be aware that this is not true. I am off for a month or so, because I was in danger of going over the limit of episodes listed in my contract. They did not wish to pay me for doing extra shows, so Bo was sent out of town for a month in order for him to remain, I am told, present and center when I return.

"However, the show is in negociations right now with the network, so the deal is pretty simple: if you want Bo around and don't like having him be away, write to the people in charge and let it be known, for that is always useful. What is not useful, however, is trying to sabotage a storyline the writers have planned for us actors... There's apparently another rumour circulating, stating I have said in a recent personal appearance in Canada, that I do not enjoy working with Crystal Chappel (Carly). That is not – I repeat NOT – true.

NEWS: Weil, Carlson, CA Tax Credits, Zucker, Seganti

ANYONE BUT ME Anything But Unpopular with 2.2M Views, GILMORE GIRLS Star Joining Cast
The show has racked up a total of 2.2 million views across all of its distribution partners, including over 560,000 views on Blip.tv since December — making it the most popular drama in the company’s history. Liza Weil, memorable to GILMORE GIRLS fans as Rory's nemesis Paris Geller, will begin a multi-episode arc this February as pregnant psychiatrist Dr. Glass.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Star Nicole Pacent teased this casting on a recent episode of WE LOVE SOAPS TV.

UGLY BETTY leaves lasting legacy: Move from LA to NYC led to new CA tax credit
Reports Nikki Finke: "The show will be remembered for more than just a fashion storyline, or a remake of a Colombian telenovela. Instead, UGLY BETTY's 2008 move from LA to Gotham for New York's tax breaks prompted the California state legislature to finally offer $500 million in new tax credits to help stop runaway showbiz production. Even though the first credits aren't applicable until 2011, applications are already flying out the door. That's because the so-called UGLY BETTY law aimed at big movie productions with budgets up to $75 million, new TV series willing to relocate to California, and independent films with budgets up to $10 million. The credit, for up to 25% of production budgets spent in the state, is capped at $100 million a year. This, combined with the Los Angeles City Council's new business tax breaks, could persuade Hollywood to start filming close to home again."

Laura Leighton, Ashley Benson, Nia Peeples series picked up by ABC Family
The Warner Horizon-produced LIARS, which was originally picked up to pilot, is based on Sara Shepard's books. It follows four estranged best friends (Lucy Hale, Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Shay Mitchell) who are reunited one year after their best friend and queen bee of the group, Alison, goes missing -- only to discover they're receiving messages from an anonymous "A" who knows all their secrets.

Latin Pop Star Joins the Cast of 90210
Mexican pop star Diego Boneta is joining the cast of 90210, TVGuide.com is reporting. Boneta will play Javier, a young musician, in multiple episodes beginning in May. Javier has a fling with Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes), whose story line will become increasingly music-centric when she joins an all-girl band.

For high school students, thanks partly to GLEE, singing in a cappella groups is the new reality
For several years, attempts to form an a cappella group at Pentucket Regional High School in West Newbury fell flat. Then the television show GLEE, about a high school glee club, debuted.

"The kids saw the show last spring and we came back in the fall and suddenly I had all these kids," said Kim O’Keefe, who directs the school’s new, 32-member a cappella group, the Treble Makers. "GLEE is why the group is so big."

NIP/TUCK's Kelly Carlson meets with Congressman
Best known for her role as the sultry but disturbed Kimber Henry on the racy FX show NIP/TUCK Carlson walked into Rep. John Conyers Jr.'s (D-Mich.) office — and found the lawmaker “rocking out to [jazz legend John] Coltrane!” she told ITK at a dinner at Teatro Goldoni on K Street.

Apple's iPad may underwhelm Hollywood
The slim gadget that enables the computing functions of a laptop while also incorporating a full-color e-reader offers little that's unique for Hollywood. When it comes to video programing, the iPad, for now, is just another home for buying and watching TV shows and movies through the iTunes store.

Arianne Zucker returns from materity leave; Wildman back on DAYS too
Arianne Zucker (Nicole) is back from her maternity leave and on set filming this week. Her on-screen mom, Valerie Wildman (Fay) also taped on Monday, Jan. 25. Look for both to first air in March.

INTERVIEW: ATWT's Paolo Seganti on his new book, "The Tin Funnel"
"A lot of fans have already been asking me for months when this book's going to come out [in the States]. I was aiming for Christmas but it's a couple of months later than I was expecting. It's hopefully going to be out by Valentine's Day. It came out last year in September and has won a few awards already."

NEWS: Hulu, FNL, Kelly Carlson, BBC vs ITV

At Hulu, 'free' may soon turn into 'fee'
The site has spent months studying how to strike a balance between what people expect to watch free online and what they would be willing to pay for, said people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

One plan being considered would allow users to view the five most recent episodes of TV shows free but would require a subscription of $4.99 a month to watch older episodes. Hulu believes it will need at least 20 TV series -- both current ones and those no longer on the air -- to make such a pay service attractive to users. A firm pricing model could emerge within six months, the sources said.

Furious BBC chiefs accuse ITV show of fixing CORONATION STREET win
Furious BBC chiefs last night accused ITV1 of fixing its National TV Awards to let CORONATION STREET win the serial drama gong. The ITV1 gala featured a three-minute video tribute to mark CORRIE's 50 years, a speech by two of its stars and gushing praise from host Dermot O'Leary – while large sections of the 8.2 million audience were still voting. The BBC's EastEnders, ITV1’s Emmerdale and Channel 4’s Hollyoaks are incensed their shows were not similarly plugged, even though EASTENDERS turns 25 this year.

INTERVIEW: NIP/TUCK's Kelly Carlson
"The very last scene — I can’t describe it — but the very last scene is great for me. It rounds out the show. I hope the audience will be satisfied. For me as an actor, it went start to finish and ended in a great place."

Why we love TV's anti-heroes
The heroes of today are radically different from those of two or three decades ago. They have evolved to represent a radically changed world.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: An Honest Portrayal of Abortion
Here's what New York Magazine has to say about how Becky's decision plays out on screen: "What follows is the best and most honest portrayal of the heartrending decision to end a teenage pregnancy that we’ve ever seen. Other than Becky’s mom railing at the state-mandated pro-life speech that the doctor has to deliver, there’s not a single reference to the cultural war that still rages over this intensely personal issue. Instead, there is just Becky’s intensely personal journey: her sadness over her situation, her shame as she realizes that her mother once viewed her as a similar 'mistake,' her overwhelming desire to be an adult, someone with responsibilities and love in her life, and, then, ultimately, her realization that she is not ready to be a parent."

EDITORIAL: Why Soaps Are NOT Dying?

With all due respect to Lynette Rice from Entertainment Weekly and all the other mainstream journalists who write about the demise of the soap opera genre, you have missed the point. The Nielsen ratings for all broadcast television have eroded over the years and daytime soap operas are no different. The daytime soaps are not as profitable as they once were. That is a fact. But it seems like the overarching theme of many of these stories is that fans are abandoning the medium, as if it is the fan's fault for the decline. Don't blame the fans!

NEWS: Rodriguez, ASC, Tellem, Santer, Claywell, Murphy

Women on TV: the difference between night and day
Mala Bhattacharjee writes: "I sifted through each daytime soap that I watch, trying to think of a woman who is not reduced to obsessing over some man or over their children — to think of women who are shown as flawed but also root-worthy, with solid careers, who aren’t written off as ball-busters or sacrificed for the sake of a plot. Good gravy, do you know what a difficult task that is?"

Nancy Tellem switches roles at CBS
The 12-year CBS veteran is shedding day-to-day responsibilities to become senior adviser to the CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves, her boss of the past 23 years, working closely with him on new business and strategic opportunities involving content partnerships, new production models and new technologies. Tellem will start her new position in January.

INTERVIEW: EASTENDERS executive producer Diederick Santer
On the show's upcoming 25th anniversary week: "It's really important that the feel of the week is active and exciting and not too reflective. There'll be those moments for some of our longer-serving characters that briefly reflect on themselves and how they've changed. The characters don't know that it's the 25th anniversary of anything, so it'd be absurd to contrive too many situations in which they're reflective on the past. The main engine of that week is great stories that'll get people talking."

ASC TV award noms announced
The American Society of Cinematographers' nominations in two television categories, announced Thursday. UGLY BETTY's "There's No Place Like Mode" episode was nominated.

INTERVIEW: OLTL's Nicholas Rodriguez (Nick)
"There's definitely a fighter inside Nick, just like there's definitely a fighter inside of me. I really tried to tap into what I would do in this situation and they were pretty big about letting that happen. And I think there's all types of activism and all types of ways to achieve an end, but it's those non-violent people who I've always looked up to as role models, like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. I think the way to go with Nick Chavez is he fights with his brain and he fights with his words."

Brett Claywell judges '25 Most Interesting Webcams' contest
EarthCam (www.EarthCam.com), the world's favorite webcam network and recognized international authority in the network camera industry, today announced its 11th annual list of the world's "25 Most Interesting Webcams." OLTL's Brett Claywell (Kyle) was one of the VIP judges.

INTERVIEW: GLEE and NIP/TUCK creator Ryan Murphy
“We have 10 Madonna songs in one episode [of GLEE] – a huge amount and I’m really excited about that,” he said. “I’m really excited about Kristen Chenoweth coming back, she’s such a doll and I love writing for her and I love pitching songs that she’s never sung. And we have a couple of really big top-secret guest stars who I can’t say. Childhood idols of mine. … They love the show and wanted to do it.”

PREVIEW: Tonight's NIP/TUCK

NIP/TUCK "Lola Wlodkowski" (Season 6 Episode 8) - A medical consultation with Liz's friend leads Christian to contemplate his relationship with Kimber. Sean begins to heal emotionally following an encounter with a perfection-seeking patient. "Lola Wlodkowski" airs on tonight at 10 p.m. on F/X.

PREVIEW: Tonight's NIP/TUCK

NIP/TUCK "Alexis Stone" Season 6 Episode 6 - Julia's recently remarried mother (Vanessa Redgrave) threatens to take custody of Annie and Conor, and Sean and Julia put aside their differences to stop her. Meanwhile, Christian bonds with a new patient; and Mike reveals his plans with Kimber.

PREVIEW: Tonigh'ts NIP/TUCK

NIP/TUCK "Abigail Sullivan" (Season 6 Episode 5) - As Matt's crime spree catches up with him, Julia returns from New York to help in his recovery from surgery. Sean discovers devastating details about his marriage to Teddy. A new patient suffers from extreme separation anxiety.

Continue reading...

The Stepfather Full of Soap Stars

If you haven't seen the Screen Gems remake of The Stepfather, you may want to check it out. The suspense thriller finished in the top 10 in both of its first two weeks out and features quite a few soap opera actors. Nelson McCormick, who has directed NIP/TUCK, NYPD BLUE, THE WEST WING and several other television series, was the director on the film.

The movie stars Dylan Walsh (Sean, NIP/TUCK) as "the stepfather" who moves from family to family as seemingly the perfect guy, Sela Ward (Teddy, SISTERS) and Penn Badgley (Dan, GOSSIP GIRL; ex-Phillip, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. In supporting roles you'll find former GUIDING LIGHT stars Paige Turco (Dinah) and Sherry Stringfield (Blake) playing a lesbian couple. Turco left GL in 1989 the same year that Stringfield joined the cast.

Also appearing in the film are Blue Deckert (ex-Bill, DALLAS), Jason Wiles (ex-Colin, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210) and Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri, Glee).

News Round-up: Dattilo, Badgley, Jeff & Jordan, Willey

Oscar, Felix - and Walt (Willey)
"I like to get away from the camera and get out there in front of an audience every chance I get," says longtime ALL MY CHILDREN star Walt Willey. "I have a one man show about growing up in Ottawa, and next summer I'll be playing Mortimer in "Arsenic and Old Lace,' " a part that I'm at least 25 years too old for!"

INTERVIEW: DAYS's Bryan Dattilo (Lucas)
"[Chloe]breaks my heart. She doesn’t even come to visit me in rehab. (Lucas is back on the booze). She’s too busy with Daniel. She’s all about Daniel. She told Nicole about Sami's baby."

"My grandmother was the biggest DAYS OF OUR LIVES fan. It was her soap. I used to stay with her in the summer a lot. She used to warn me: do not talk to me while my story is on. She would punish me if I asked questions. I called her and told her I had an interview for DAYS OF OUR LIVES. She cried. She said, I can see you every day! I said, Meme, don’t put that pressure on me."

NIP/TUCK still fun, but FX medical series could use a lift in penultimate season
If it doesn't hit with the same impact it had in the past, that's not the fault of the actors or creator Ryan Murphy. Like most primetime soaps, it has set the bar so high with past excess that it becomes almost impossible to keep reaching or topping it. Still, Wednesday night's episode kept the show's style and tone intact, and the plot still careened around blind corners at unsafe speeds.

INTERVIEW: GOSSIP GIRL's Penn Badgley (Dan)
"I mean, especially in this day and age the way media is, you very much need your fans, so I’m always so appreciative of any fanfare anybody is willing to throw my way. So yes, a deep, heartfelt thank you."

BB's Jeff and Jordan will appear Oct. 27 on B&B
BIG BROTHER 11 winner Jordan Lloyd, together with her showmance Jeff Schroeder, will appear on the Oct. 27 episode of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. Lloyd and Schroeder will co-star opposite Bold’s Jennifer Gareis (Donna) and Aaron D. Spears (Justin) in flashback scenes of a high school homecoming dance from the ’80s.

C4's INBETWEENERS and HOLLYOAKS to appear on YouTube starting in 2010
The popular Channel Four shows are set to appear on YouTube after the broadcaster made a three year agreement with the online video sharing site owned by Google. A spokesman for Google said of the agreement: "It [will] help Channel 4 to grow its online revenues and to continue to invest in the creation of high-quality original content." The shows are set to appear in full on a special designed video-on-demand service hosted by Google.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For those asking, the Carolyn Hinsey New York Daily News column has not appeared online or in print recently so that's why it hasn't been posted.

PREVIEW: Ryan Murphy TV Tonight

Both of Ryan Murphy's TV series will be on the tube tonight, GLEE and the returning NIP/TUCK.

On GLEE (9 p.m. ET, FOX), Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester becomes co-director of the Glee club and tries to implode the team by turning the minority students against the rest; among the songs are Mercades doing Jill Scott's "Hate on Me," Quinn taking the lead on the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Rachel and Finn taking the parts of Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown on "No Air" and the cast taking on Avril Lavigne's "Keep Holding On," in the most emotional moment of the episode.

On the sixth season premiere of NIP/TUCK (10 p.m. ET, FX), Christian's marriage to Liz unravels as soon as he finds out he no longer has terminal cancer; he files for divorce, she seeks bigtime revenge. Meanwhile the economy is taking its toll and they take in their old nemesis, Mike Hamoui, played by Mario Lopez. Also, the Scientologist and crystal meth addict Matt (John Hensley), who last season blew up his motel room, dated his burn counselor and slept with his half-sister, now takes up a new hobby: mime.